The applicant claims and requests a foreign priority, through the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industry Property, based on a patent application filed in the Republic of Korea (South Korea) with the filing date of Oct. 23, 2001, with the patent application No. 10-2001-0065303, by the applicant. (See the attached Declaration)
The invention relates to a tablet dispensing and packaging system. More particularly, the present invention relates to an automatic tablet dispensing and packaging system for processing a prescription input into serial paper bags where paper bags each containing a predetermined batch of tablets become evenly packaged regardless of difference in number of tablets being packaged.
FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 each show a conventional tablet packaging apparatus for an automatic tablet dispensing and packaging system. As shown FIG. 4, a paper sheet 100 being unrolled is initially sealed along an edge portion 100a by edge rollers 102 while receiving tablets 103 into the paper sheet being folded at the same time. The edge-sealed and folded paper sheet 100 is cross-sealed by the cross rollers 101. The distance between adjacent cross-sealed portions 100b is controlled by relative rolling of the edge rollers 102 and the cross rollers 101.
However, when the edge portions 100a are first sealed by the edge rollers 102, it may be difficult for the tablets 103 to drop down through a paper hole formed by the sealed edge portions 100a due to a relative narrowness of the hole, thereby incurring packaging errors. As shown in FIG. 5, the cross sealing by the cross rollers 101 is alternately performed prior to the edge sealing by the edge rollers 102. Here, the paper sheet 100 is relatively wide open when cross-sealed, so it is hard to evenly maintain the edge portions 100a of the paper sheet 100, thereby causing tablet bags to become defective especially when more tablets are assigned to the tablet bags. Also, as shown in FIG. 6, the heater 113 is installed within the cross rollers 101 powered by a first motor 111 so that the heat may be transferred via the cross rollers 101 to the edge rollers 102, disadvantageously causing temperature difference between the edge and cross rollers.
The present invention is contrived to overcome the conventional disadvantages. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to stably guide the paper bag into sealing rollers. Another object is to minimize defective paper bags each containing a predetermined batch of tablets.
To achieve the above-described objects, an automatic tablet dispensing and packaging system for processing a prescription input into tablet containing serial paper bags according to the present invention comprises a tablet dropping unit having a hopper therebelow. The hopper guides each batch of tablets from the table dropping unit to drop therethrough. Each batch of tablets are determined in accordance with the prescription input.
A paper control is provided below the hopper to substantially fold an elongated paper sheet being unrolled to consecutively capture thereby said each batch of tablets from the hopper. The paper sheet includes a lengthwise sealing portion along each upper edge line of the substantially folded paper sheet. A pair of shafts each having a top periphery, a below-top periphery, a bottom periphery, and an axial line between the bottom and below-top peripheries. A top roller extends from the top periphery of each shaft to have a top radius. An axial plate radially extends from the axial line of each shaft so that ridged outer surfaces of the axial plates intermittently seal the substantially folded paper sheet in a sidewise sealing format in correspondence to mutual engagement rolling of the top rollers.
A pair of below-top rollers extending from the below-top periphery to have a below-top radius. The below-top radius is less than the top radius so that the below-top rollers guide down the sealing portions of the paper sheet therebetween. Also, a pair of edge rollers provided below the below-top rollers to seal therebetween the lengthwise sealing portions of the widthwisely sealed paper sheet to thereby release the tablet containing serial paper bags.
The below-top rollers are spaced from each other by between about twice the thickness of the paper sheet and about six times the thickness of the paper sheet. Each pair of the top and edge rollers are each elastically engaged to each other. A bottom roller extending from the bottom periphery of said each shaft to have a bottom radius so that the bottom radius is equal to the top radius. Selectively, a roller control is attached to the top and edge rollers to temporarily halt the engagement rolling of the top and edge rollers for a length adjustment between two adjacent ones of the widthwisely sealed portions of the paper sheet. A heater may be provided to heat each outer surface of the axial plates and the edge rollers. Preferably, each batch of tablets is variable in number of tablets assigned therefore.